Anti-LGBTQ pastor and Evangelical Advisor to Trump, Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., dies at age 66. His death comes weeks after Jackson attended the COVID-19 White House outbreak.
What We Know:
- The Bishop was the pastor at Hope Christian Church. “It is with a heavy heart that we notify you that our beloved Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr. has transitioned to be with the Lord on November 9, 2020,” said a statement from the church’s website.
- Jackon graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts and later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business school.
- His cause of death is unknown, but Jackson was one of the attendees to the September 26 nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. Many infections of COVID-19 later became related to this event. Jackson has had some health concerns in the past. In 2005, Jackson was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and survived a stroke during treatment.
- Jackson was extremely vocal about his ANTI-LGBTQ views. He referred to the LGBTQ community as “folks who cannot reproduce who want to recruit your kids”. Jackson told his following to “steal back the rainbow. We can’t let the gays have it.”
- When referring to same-sex marriage, he stated: “I believe that the Bible teaches that same-sex marriage is an oxymoron,” and marriage equality is ‘a Satanic plot to destroy our seed’.”
- In 2013, he believed that legalizing same-sex marriage would lead to polygamy “automatically become[ing] legal”. He also stated that “If gay marriage becomes law, there will be no legal barriers to keep institutions from forcing students to suppress their deeply held religious beliefs”.
Trump has referred to Jackson as “a highly respected gentleman who is a member of our faith and a person that we have tremendous respect for”. Jackson was invited to deliver an Easter blessing to the Oval Office this past Easter. Jackson had also thanked Trump for his “insightful leadership”.
